MAD

chxpter 25

"Vi," he whispers, aggrieved. Like he hates that I'm about to cry because of him.

"I'm fine," I say, inhaling once more before I turn to face him.

A slew of mixed emotions rush at me.

Reid's strong, masculine facial structure is contrasted by the feline shape of his grey-green eyes, which bore into me. The pink scar on his cheek, the freshest of many, looks like a teardrop... like a gang tatt for a suite of kills. 

Reid cups my cheek, searching my face as though he's trying to commit it to memory, "If I had the time," he starts, but pain grips his throat, like the prospect of uttering what he wants is too akin to accepting what these bastards are about to take from him, "...this is a fuckin' train wreck." He murmurs.

He'd give me everything if he had the time... somehow, a terrifying bout of hope blooms in my chest.

Oh, god, he's talking about love. 

Scorpius is coming in an hour. Guilt interrupts, pinning me in place. 

If I tell him there's a chance he could live, and I fail, then he might spend his last moments thinking I betrayed him. Failed him. I can't bear to imagine it, but I can't, I won't let them take him either...

Not because he's important to Elias, or because I care for his sister. Not because those months he spent with my family made him, contractually Warrendale, or because he used to mean something to Tokyo. Not because I have an axe to grind and I wan' make his life hell for keeping so many god-forsaken secrets... 

Because I need to get him out.

What if I don't? An intense ache bleeds through me. I lace my arms around his chest and hug him tightly, realising I'm about to cry, knowing it'll be worse if he can see my face.
He makes a noise from the force of it, "Hey, hey," he whispers, smoothing his hands over my head, lacing his fingers through my hair. His body is firm and full of heat. His scent shrouds me, and tears stream down my cheeks but I hold my breath for fear of crumbling. Crumbling for the fact that... "I didn't like you in the city because you were the only reason my family worked and when you left I felt like I lost them again," I gush, "an' I know it don't make sense because we never got along but dad and Tokyo stopped fighting, and mum stopped picking at me, and Tokyo was so happy."
Reid kisses my head, "Vi baby don' cry, I'm sorry," he tightens his hold when my chest shakes. "I'm sorry," his voice thickens.
"And you got through to my dad better than any of us could," Unable to find the right words I wipe my cheek, "and now I feel like an idiot because I've spent this whole time resenting you, and now you're gon'-," he shushes me, cupping my cheek. I look up at him, my lip trembling. Fuck I hate crying. I hadn't even realised that I felt like that. But in truth I always silently loved when Reid was around, because despite our bickering, his presence brought peace to my family.

Reid kisses me gently, cupping my face with such care that it stuns me. It dulls my thoughts, and I feel his heart against me, working harder than normal. But his fingers relax against my skin.

His lips are soft, but even with a clean shave there's a slight grate to his skin against mine. My attraction for him intensifies, and a calm, soothing warmth expands through me.

God I need more of him. But how can I even think like that when there's a kill order hanging over his head?

I unwrap my towel, letting it hit the floor before I step into him, angling my neck up and closing the distance. He kisses me slowly, gentle enough to make my thudding heart still, pushing my hair aside as he makes a noise of satisfaction. Fück. 

I kiss him back and he moves his thumb over my jaw softly, angling my head so he can deepen his take. I let him have my mouth as I pulse my fingers into his forearm, and his hold slips from my waist down to the slope of my ass. I buck into him hungrily when he digs his fingers in, and he opens my mouth, bearing into me.